The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller’s, not those of WBZ-TV, CBS News or Paramount, a Skydance Corporation.
Plans to change the state flag of Massachusetts are suddenly taking center stage in the race for governor, as both Republicans running for the nomination say they want to save the current flag.
Some Native Americans disagree with flag
To Stefanie Salguero, a local descendant of the Lakota Sioux who’s been part of the years-long push to get rid of the state’s 250-year-old coat of arms that adorns the Massachusetts flag, its imagery of an arm and sword dangling over the head of a Native American is “not really honoring the legacy of Indigenous people by having a sword above this person, kinda saying that they were only good for what they died for.”
“I think we need to understand the impact that these public flags, team names play into how people conceptualize and understand Indigenous identity,” said Salguero and she urged state government, currently rounding third in the process of selecting a new state seal, to create one “to honor what Massachusetts now stands for, not so much the historical context of genocide.”
GOP gubernatorial candidates agree flag should stay
But even as Beacon Hill gears up for hearings on the flag planned for later this year, the Republicans running for governor see a wedge issue emerging…